The rubber-tree boom in Cambodia: Assessing small landholders’ optimism potx

The rubber-tree boom in Cambodia: Assessing small landholders’ optimism By: Christophe Gironde Paper presented at the International Conference on Global Land Grabbing II October 17‐19, 2012 Organized by the Land Deals Politics Initiative (LDPI) and hosted by the Department of Development Sociology at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. 1 GLOBAL LAND GRABBING II Cornell University – October 17-19, 2012 The rubber-tree boom in Cambodia: Assessing small landholders’ optimism Christophe Gironde Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland Abstract This paper questions common understandings of the process of agrarian change and the fate of peasantry through a case study of large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) in Northeastern Cambodia that provides evidence against such understandings. On the highlands of Ratanakiri, the local economy has undergone a process of restructuring around rubber crops over the last five to ten years, as illustrated by large areas of cleared land ready to be planted, ‘young’ plantations (not yet productive) and numerous settlements on the edges of large and enclosed landholdings. Vietnamese companies and Cambodian individuals who acquire large landholdings are the main drivers of this process. The pioneer front dynamics have also attracted an increasing number of migrants from lowland provinces. Additionally, small landholders deploy efforts to participate in the boom. In contrast with the literature, which suggests a rather pessimistic view of the consequences of large-scale landholdings for indigenous small landholders’ livelihoods, most indigenous peoples interviewed were optimistic about rubber and were deploying efforts to develop rubber plantations. What are the reasons behind their optimism? What is their rationale for planting rubber? Is it rational, i.e. can it be profitable when considering the competition from large-scale plantations, the competition of in-migrants and the rubber commodity-chain? Based on field research carried out in 2010 and 2012, the intention of this paper is to answer those research questions and to set forth an analysis of small landholders transition to farming systems in which a growing portion of land is dedicated to rubber tree plantations. In a political economy perspective, the paper analyses households’ strategies and the changing socio-economic environment in which they implement livelihoods transition. The rush for land by concessions and plantations, unbalanced social relations with in-migrants and the commercialization regime highlight some of the uncertainties facing local populations who attempt to participate in the rubber boom. 2 Introduction The expansion of rubber production in Southeast Asia has reached the highlands of Ratanakiri in north-eastern Cambodia over the last five to ten years, as testified by large areas of cleared land ready to be planted with rubber trees, ‘young’ plantations (not yet productive), settlements on the edges of large and enclosed landholdings and massive in- migration of Khmers from other provinces in search for land and work. The expansion of rubber trees planted area in Ratanakiri is twofold: both large-scale land acquisitions and small landholdings. Large-scale land acquisitions are comprised by either hundreds to thousands of hectares leased to foreign companies, mainly Vietnamese and Chinese, in the frame of Economic Land Concessions (ELCs here-after concessions) and by Khmer individual investors (here-after companies). Small landholdings, on the other hand, are comprised by one to a dozen of hectares, farmed by local populations and Khmers immigrants coming from other provinces. Ratanakiri is still often depicted as remote; though, it has witnessed a rapid integration (Bourdier, 2009a) into national and sub-regional (in reference to the Greater Mekong region) territory, markets and networks. From the province capital-city Banlung, it takes 7 hours to drive to Phnom Penh, but little more than one hour to reach the Vietnamese border where most of the latex is transported and then exported throughout Vietnam to China and Malaysia. Ratanakiri has the characteristics of a pioneer-front (Dolfuss, 1981; Dufumier, 2006) as illustrated by unprecedented change in land cover and land use (Fox et al., 2009; Sloth et al., 2005), the emergence of new stakeholders, including concessions, companies, traders, development organizations, as well as numerous Khmer immigrants, mainly from Kampong Cham and Prey Veng provinces, in search of jobs and land. Local livelihoods are undergoing profound transformation, such as changing access to land resulting from increasing land prices and expansion of large-scale production units, new technology in agriculture, new markets, new non-farm activities and more opportunities outside of villages. The rubber boom is not only restructuring the local economy, but it is also impacting society as a whole, as illustrated by NGO staff who have become brokers of land or Vietnamese people trying to get Cambodian citizenship to facilitate their businesses. How do local small landholders perceive the overall development of rubber? What are their expectations as they invest their land, workforce and assets in rubber? Can they turn their investment efforts into profitable and sustainable cropping system? Can they compete with large-scale concessions and companies and resist the rush for land? In 3 contrast with the rather pessimistic literature most households interviewed in Ratanakiri expressed enthusiasm and confidence in their capacity to benefit from rubber and many have deployed efforts to develop rubber plantations. What are the reasons behind their optimism? What is their rationale for planting rubber? Is it rational, i.e. can it be profitable when considering the competition from large-scale plantations, the competition of in-migrants and the rubber commodity-chain? Based on field research carried out in 2010 and 2012, the intention of this paper is thus to set forth an analysis of small landholders transition to rubber crop, their rationale for doing so, their achievements thus far, and the uncertainties around this process. Research was carried out in two communes in 2010 - Loum Choar (O’Yadav district) and L'eun Kang Mis (Ou Chum district) - and 2012: again Loum Choar and Malik (Andoug Meas district) in the frame of two research projects 1 . Field research consisted mostly of semi-structured interviews with households including native Jarai and Tumpun populations and Khmer recent immigrants, concessions and company managers or cadres 2 , representatives of local authorities at communal (heads of communal councils) and village (chiefs of village) levels. In August 2012, interviews were completed with land plots measurement, which were found crucial not only to obtain more accurate figures but also to geo-localize households’ land, their proximity or distance from concessions and companies. Prior to fieldwork, literature was reviewed related to agrarian transition and recent and on-going socio-economic development process in the Ratanakiri area. Preliminary findings and analysis from the field research were discussed through a series of interviews with key-informant researchers and development organisations’ staff. Due to the sensitivity of the land issue, the interviewees are kept anonymous. 1 This research would not have been possible without the support of (1) the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF, Hanoi) for the programme Les hévéacultures familiales au Cambodge et au Vietnam et leur intégration dans la région du Mekong; (2) the Swiss Network in International Studies for the project Large-Scale Land Acquisitions in Southeast Asia: rural transformations between global agendas and peoples’ right to food - http://www.snis.ch/call-projects-2011_1227_large-scale-land-acquisitions- southeast-asia-rural. I am greatful to my colleagues in Ratanakiri - Frédéric Fortunel, Amaury Peeters, Marie-Solène Pham, and Cambodian partners who prefer to remain anonymous - and to Kathryn Chelminsky from the Graduate Institute for editing and usefull comments. 2 Interviews were carried out at Chea Chanrith (15000 ha Vietnam-Cambodian investment ELC overlapping with Loum Choar communal territory) on 17/08/2012; Cheng Ly Investment Co. Ltd (1800 ha Chinese-investment ELC overlapping with Malik communal territory) on 17/08/2012; Công Ty Hoang Anh Gia Lai (Vietnamese-investment ELC in Ta Veaeng District on 17/08/2012; and a 300 ha private company located on Loum Choar communal territory (the manager asked not to mention the name of the owner) on 16/08/2012. 4 The paper is organized in four sections. The first section reviews academic and development organization literature, which describes a ‘dubious development process’ as related to land access and consequent vulnerability for local populations. The second section presents the theoretical background and analytical framework. The third section analyses households’ rationale and strategies in resource allocation and their achievements in developing rubber, The fourth section draws attention to the uncertainty around rubber development-related agrarian change, namely large-scale landholdings pressure on land, the commercialization of rubber and the competition from Khmer in- migrants on labour and land markets. 1. On-going agrarian change in Ratanakiri: a dubious development Cambodian public institutions, sub-regional organizations and their projects such as the Greater Mekong Sub-region project sponsored by the Asian Development Bank, and inter-governmental cooperation arrangement such as the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Triangle are supportive of the current process of rubber development driven by large- scale production units. 3 Foreign-direct investment for large-scale land concessions is deemed more efficient than household-based production. The positive stance is forged on a series of commitments for creating “favourable investment and business environment” to “enhance regional integration and closer cooperation”, which are deemed key in moving from “land-locked to land-linked” socio-economic development (MPI, 2009). Among the comparative advantages of the sub-region, “plentiful natural resources” and “large areas of fertile agricultural land” are highlighted. This potential is to be developed in a “clusters scheme” (ADB, 2012); Ratanakiri fits into such a scheme whereby “production (predominantly agricultural commodities) takes place along borders” (idem). In the Greater Mekong Sub-region, rubber is deemed attractive among agricultural commodities “due to its fewer (agricultural) inputs, long economic life and high market demand” (CDRI, 2009: 13). Hansen and Top (2006) analyse the various options for Cambodian natural forests’ use and explain that rubber (with an income of 3756 US$ / ha (net present value) is more profitable than acacias (323 US$ / ha) or eucalyptus (100 US$ / ha), whereas cashew nut or oil palm trees would not be as profitable. The study by Fox et al. (2009) similarly shows that rubber is the best alternative to current natural forest uses and argues that it provides a “better economic position” to local populations. Their 3 See for instance Office of the Council of Ministers (2008); “Rectangular Strategy” for Growth, Employment, Equity and Efficiency; Enforcement Decree of the 2001 Land Law (Articles 3 and 5); Triangle Cambodia-Lao-Vietnam (2009) 5 study shows that there is no conflict between food crops (mostly rice) and cash crop, but rather crop “integration” is used when rubber trees are intercropped with rice until the trees become productive. One of the first concerns about Cambodian rubber is its weak competitiveness within the sub-region because of lower per-hectare rubber yield, a significant rise in the real daily wage of labourers 4 and relatively high costs of electricity and petroleum (CDRI, 2009, Saing, 2009). Notwithstanding possible improvement of rubber trees productivity, one must question the capacity for local populations to gain know-how and afford technology to develop rubber-cropping systems that can compete with large-size and capital- intensive landholdings. This raises the question whether the government will provide appropriate extension services to local populations. Another concern about rubber profitability and expected income relates to commercialization. The CDRI draws attention to the fact that small producers might not be paid adequately for their rubber (2009: 13) since they have no information on price, and end up with incomes not as high as expected. The sustainability of an “integrated” rice-rubber farming system – in reference to the above-mentioned study by Fox et al. (2009) - depends on the availability of land, and more precisely on the capability for local populations to have access to enough land to be cleared for rice accordingly to rotations required in swidden agriculture. This capability is indeed one of the challenges confronting local populations in the current process of agrarian change. For some, indigenous populations’ land rights are better protected than previously through the 2001 Land Law and 2002 Forest Law, particularly owing to collective / communitarian land titles (Nuy, 2010). Simbolon (2002: 26) provides a more nuanced assessment by highlighting that neither indigenous populations nor various types of land rights were taken into account in the design of the 2001 land law, which limits community rights on behalf of avoiding land alienations. The author draws attention to “legislative pluralism” whereby customary rights are recognized but remain under the discretionary power of the State. The State, on behalf of national laws such as the Law on Environment Protection, can acquire land by pre-emption (Simbolon, 2002: 24). Moreover, it is argued that the land rights registration scheme does not reach its objective, as very few indigenous people can comply with complex and sometimes costly procedures (Global Witness, 2009; So, 2009). Several authors argue that in practice neo- 4 This issue may not apply to Ratanakiri where, according to concessions workers interviewed in Ou Choum district in 2010, daily salaries paid by concessions for tapping the trees – 70’000 to 100’000 Riels - are far below salaries in Kampong Cham – 200’000 Riels. 6 patrimonialism and abusive power relations are the rule of law (Luco, 2008; Ironside, 2009; Un and So, 2011), whereas the bulk of the population tend not to participate in the land rights registration scheme due to its complexity and instead stay on the land without registration (Luco, 2008). According to Bourdier (2009a), such governance is part of a policy of “segregation and exclusion” of ethnic minorities who are not even informed about decision-makers plans. Moreover indigenous populations hardly have access to formal justice system because there is no institution or service to whom they could address their claims (Backstrom et al., 2007). Many authors doubt then that indigenous populations could have a say on economic land concessions (LICADHO, 2005; Mengin, 2007; Un and So, 2011: 289) and argue that concessions are actually set up regardless of any eventual community land rights record (Men, 2011). Several losses derive from insecure land tenure and the rush for land by concessions and plantations. The first one is the loss of access to forests: Hansen and Top (2006: 73) recall that the collection of non-timber forest products can provide up to around 40% of total resources of the poor populations. One must add the loss of access to grazing lands for their animals (LICADHO, 2011: 27). A third loss is related to compensation for land plots overlapping with concessions territory; if any compensation is to be provided, they are usually below what they should be with respect to the income people generate from land use. Other cases of development projects, such as hydropower dams, show that compensation is based on untrustworthy social and environmental impact studies (Baird, 2009; Middleton and al, 2009; Racine, 2010) and do not correspond to the potential income that could be generated from the land populations lost. Economic integration is also a synonym to migration, though the topic is rather absent from the analysis that is supportive of the current process of rubber development driven by large-scale production units. Migration to Ratanakiri is dominantly seen as negative for indigenous populations as one can find in the literature review prepared by Jammes (2010). The author asserts that: “From the 1960s until now, the environment and the indigenous communities were jeopardized and destabilized by the non-indigenous migration and State policies, losing their land and forest” (Jammes, 2010:9). Other authors provide a more varied assessment: the impact of migration to Ratanakiri has remained “moderate” until the 1990s according to Ehrentraut (2004) and even profitable to those among local populations who managed to keep their land according to McAndrew (2000). Others may have made highly profitable land deals (sales) with immigrants. While Ratanakiri has witnessed a continuum of in-migration since the 7 development of estate crops in the 1960s, the pace of arrivals driven by the current rubber boom has greatly accelerated over the last years. Migrants from lowland areas coming in search for work and for land are potential competitors for indigenous populations. Men (2011: 30) indicates that economic concessions prefer to hire Khmer immigrants rather than local populations because the former are better qualified – many come from areas with experience in rubber companies such as Kampong Cham – and accept lower salaries. Migrants come also in search of land and then add to the increasing rush for land created by economic concessions and companies. The question is then what the capacity is for the local economy to absorb or incorporate increasing cohorts of migrants without reducing space and opportunities for indigenous populations. The contrast is thus striking between the literature on the ‘fostering development’ scenario and analysis drawing attention on the “obvious threats, such as land grabbing” (Hammer, 2009). To the win-win rhetoricians, critical analysts oppose a winners and losers picture showing that for “remote indigenous groups development” is “the story of powerful people dominating their lives” (Ironside, 2009: 109). For some, remoteness/isolation is a justification for a large-scale units-led development model, whereas others reply that it has also guaranteed autonomy and self-sufficiency to local populations thus far. Lastly, some view economic integration as crucial for living conditions betterment, whereas others argue that it will not even reduce poverty (Bourdier, 2009a) but rather create “insecurity” (Ironside, 2009). 2. Theoretical background and analytical framework The current wave of large-scale land acquisitions relates to the broader debate on the process of agrarian change and more specifically for this paper to the discussions around, first the capacity of small landholders to ‘modernize’ their farming systems, and second the distribution of growth 5 . A common view on agricultural modernization is based on the statement that ‘traditional’ 6 farming systems are mostly characterized by low yields and low labor productivity, and can less and less satisfy the needs of farmers, nor provide food for the growing urban populations. Moreover, it is argued that such farmer communities lack 5 The theoretical background section borrows largely from the research project proposal, which was approved for funding by the Swiss Network in International Studies. 6 ‘Traditional’ / ‘tradition’ are used here in reference to the common discurse whereby existing farming systems associated to labour-intensive, small-scale, diversified crops combination are opposed to ‘modern’ farming systems associated with capital-intensive, large-scale, specialized ones. 8 access to markets, capital, production inputs and technology that are needed to increase production and productivity and that those populations therefore cannot escape poverty traps. In addition, traditional farming systems are often accused of being environmentally unsustainable, as they are associated to decreasing soil fertility, thereby further diminishing the productive potential of land. This view is particularly strong when it comes to swidden agriculture performed by ethnic minorities, which is typically the case of Jarai and Tampun ethnic minorities from Ratanakiri highlands 7 . Following such statements, or “yields gaps” (World Bank, 2010), agricultural modernization would require investment in technology for mechanization and the use of improved input packages (varieties and strains, fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) and standardized products for a stronger integration into agri-business commodity-chains. LSLAs by capital-intensive production units fit with this pattern, as they would not only enable more productive use of natural resources but also, in reference to the staples theory and "staples-based" development (Findley and Lundhal, 1994), favour the development of linkages between agricultural sector and the rest of the economy. Against this view, some scholars argue that the “need for agricultural modernization” does not apply to every agro-ecological environment and that small-scale agriculture has not reached a dead-end (Dufumier, 2006). In contrast, they see a great potential not only for increased productivity but also for the provision of a multitude of environmental services (McIntyre et al., 2008). Moreover, historical account of the 1960-70s Green Revolution indicates a remarkable capacity of small farmers to adopt new technology (Barker and Herdt, 1985). This capacity has been confirmed by “energetic smallholder engagement” in boom crops in Southeast Asia (Hall, 2011). Thus the problem would not be intrinsic to peasants or their traditional farming systems which are indeed capable and prone to adopt more intensive farming systems. The limitations to agricultural modernization are rather to be found in the global restructuring of agrarian systems which often reinforce a process of differentiation and consequential marginalization that lead to “risks of transitional dead- ends” (Losch, 2008) for the bulk of the peasants because of the relative scarcity of alternative activities and unbalanced power relations (Hall, Hirsch, Murray, 2011), as depicted for instance by Ironside (2009) with Cambodian indigenous communities. 7 See P. J. Hammer (2009), Development as Tragedy: The Asian Development Bank and Indigenous Peoples in Cambodia for an illustration of this issue. 9 Second, this study relates to the debate on growth distribution and social differentiation and vulnerability in the context of globalization (KiIlick, 2001; Mazoyer, 2001; Harrisson and McMillan, 2007), as LSLAs provide one of the best illustrations of globalization and of how transnational processes increasingly interplay with national and local ones. According to win-win rhetoric and scenario, LSLAs provide opportunities in terms of rural development and potential benefits for rural population (Woertz et al., 2008; FAO, 2009). Yet, the supporters of LSLAs acknowledge that the promises are not fulfilled and that land acquisitions are in some cases detrimental to large number of populations (World Bank, 2010). Against this view, a large majority of scholars tend to underline the threats posed to the livelihoods of local populations and vulnerable groups (Spieldoch and Murphy, 2009; Daniel, Mittal, 2010; Zoomers, 2010). Historians have recalled that frontier-expansion and frontier-based development have proven to be highly successful in the past for some economies and regions, but less successful for others (Barbier, 2011), and have often been closely bound to human exploitation, such as serfdom or slavery (Domar, 1970) that thus generated "abnormal rents" Di Tella (1982). For Southeast Asia, De Konincks (2000) notes that in a context where territorial expansion has included massive government-led migration programs and spontaneous migrations, "the prevailing historical trends has been the retreat of ethnic minorities who have everywhere given away, moved back, or been sedentarised and integrated into mainstream societies, generally with dire consequences to their identities”. In such circumstances, the already vulnerable groups such as smallholders and indigenous people, which often lack appropriate titling over the lands they live on and farm are at great risk of having their livelihoods infringed upon (Guerin et al. 2003). For those of the farmers who are likely to turn to the large-scale landholding, there are concerns about the quality of employment, income and poverty (Murray Li, 2011). The distribution of growth depends also on the institutions and organizations that add value to agricultural outputs, through processing and commercialization. Farming (production) systems are increasingly integrated, vertically into commodity-chains and horizontally through new distribution systems. Therefore, the question – raised among others by Scoones (2010) - is to what extent the terms of this integration between agribusiness and farmers benefit or harm the farmers? One view is that contract farming has the “potential to boost the agricultural sector to be on par with other sectors” and to contribute to the well-being of farmers (D’Silva and al, 2009). On the contrary, it is argued that small farmers might be [...]... that they had the opportunity to attend trainings; others say that they will learn by doing In the same way, they guess that it will not be difficult to become known and approached by buyers to sell their rubber Discussing more broadly their worry-free attitude, farmers simply reply that there cannot be innovation without uncertainty Interviewees are not worried either about the prospective of having... facilitated their settlement in the village by providing them land to develop rubber tree nursery Owing to these arrangements, rubber development has extended beyond well-off households and without major difficulty so far Though, there are several uncertainties pertaining to the process of agrarian change induced by the rubber boom in a mid-term perspective 4 Uncertainty Indigenous populations general optimism. .. which they clear land or harvest for other households, and then return to their homeland where they own their land Many migrants have settled in Ratanakiri where they have opened the numerous shops and services that line the main roads or have developed non-farming activities such as the trading of crops, wildlife and forest products, recruiting workers, coordinating storage and transportation, informal... acquaintances that migrated previously to Ratanakiri who now assist newcomers in finding a place to settle upon arrival, and helping them to become familiar with concessions and companies where they can find a job Owing to these networks, some of the newcomers actually already have a job when they arrive in Ratanakiri The growing presence of Khmer populations then represent growing populations, increasing... husbandry for their own consumption Thus, they presently do not fear a ‘lack of food’ Risk-taking must then be understood differently: households do not see any risk in developing rubber as long as they see food provision being secured They explain (once 11 again) that it was the same when they started to plant cashew nut trees The interviewees who had sold land plots to finance investment in rubber did... or the perception that they (farmers) have no choice other than to ‘try rubber’ Second, not all indigenous households have managed to plant rubber trees yet, and for those explaining that they do not have the land, neither the financial capital, one can hardly envisage that they will manage to gather the required resources Those households are rather in a process of becoming more vulnerable, as their... was confirmed during interviews Managers clearly explain that they hire “mostly Khmer peoples” and “sometimes some indigenous peoples.” The first reason as argued by managers, is that “indigenous peoples work for a few days and then go” as “they have then the money they need” or “because they have farm work on their land”, to which they give priority Recruiters argue that they cannot 12 Interviews with... the product until it is transported to a processing factory The process can be different in the context of small landholdings in more remote areas, as transportation takes more time and may be uneven (e.g unusable dirt roads flooded when it rains) Producers then have to store the latex in holes dug into the ground, which is detrimental to the quality of the product Consequentially, producers may find... change in their land tenure and rights Thus, indigenous populations would invest in rubber because of insecurity rather than because of its expected profitability Whether they are right or wrong, an increasing fraction of indigenous populations has turned to rubber over the last 4 years Achievements Developing rubber crops has rather been a matter of effort in work and money than a matter of risk The. .. stagnating and might not suffice to satisfy increasing needs Some have sold most of their land and are then deprived, whereas nonfarming alternatives are not promising Their vulnerability is contrasted with the growing presence of Khmer migrants Indeed, the vulnerability of the former relates to interrelations with Khmer migrants who are buying lands and have already taken control of non-farming business . The rubber-tree boom in Cambodia: Assessing small landholders’ optimism By: Christophe Gironde Paper presented at the International. GLOBAL LAND GRABBING II Cornell University – October 17-19, 2012 The rubber-tree boom in Cambodia: Assessing small landholders’ optimism Christophe